Content manager

ABSTRACT

An archive for digital content comprises archive storage, an archive service and a manifest. The archive storage is a unified storage structure for storing items, such a directory having a plurality of subdirectories. The manifest is stored within the archive storage when the archive storage is loaded onto a storage device, and comprises an index of items stored in the unified structure of the archive, an organizational structure that supports defined categories that characterize items stored in the unified structure and at least one backup queue that temporarily queues a list of items that satisfy predetermined backup criteria by have not been backed up. The archive service serves as an intermediate between users, e.g., operators, software modules, programs, services, etc., and the archive storage to control requests for access to items stored in the unified storage structure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/707,733, filed Aug. 12, 2005 entitled“PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE EDITING AND ORGANIZATION SOFTWARE”, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to computer methods, systems and computerprogram products that collect, store, organize, archive, catalog,retrieve and/or manage digital content.

It is often desirable to capture and organize digital photographs,images, audio, video and other types of digital media files to preserveimportant memories, to secure data and/or to retain representations ofevents or objects of interest. In this regard, digital cameras,scanners, camcorders and other devices allow users the ability tocapture, download and store such digital content on a general purposepersonal computer (PC). However, there is typically no consistency orstandard in how each device locates, organizes and stores its digitalcontent within the directory structure of the user's computer. Oftentimes, the organization of the corresponding media files is left to thediscretion of the user.

Moreover, if the user's computer has access to a network, e.g., theInternet, the user can search for media files and download such contentonto their computer. Again however, the organization and location ofdownloaded media files is often left to the discretion of the user. Acomputer can accumulate a substantial amount of digital media files inthe above manners, and as such, there is the potential that such digitalcontent is not well organized and thus cumbersome to secure, locateand/or retrieve.

Software products are currently available that attempt to assist usersin organizing media by providing disk indexers. Disk indexers typicallyscan a hard disk to identify and index the location of images, sound,and video files, etc., located on the hard disk during the scan. Themedia files themselves are not moved or reorganized. Accordingly, thedisk indexer also typically provides software that attempts to keep thecreated index and the actual contents of the corresponding hard disk insync with each other. However, in practice, it is quite easy to confusethe indexer software, e.g., by relocating the files on the hard disk, sothat the index loses track of the actual location of some of the mediafiles. Moreover, the index and corresponding data are typically storedin one or more database files. Database files are inherently proprietaryformats. If the user loses access to the database program of thecorresponding disk indexer, the information in the database file likelybecomes inaccessible. The database program of the disk indexer is alsooften effectively lost if copied (or restored) to a machine that is notlicensed to use the database of the disk indexer.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The various embodiments of the present invention allow a user tocollect, store, organize, archive, catalog, retrieve and/or managedigital content.

An archive for digital content comprises archive storage, an archiveservice and a manifest. The archive storage is a unified storagestructure for storing items, such a directory having a plurality ofsubdirectories. The manifest is stored within the archive storage whenthe archive storage is loaded onto a storage device, and comprises anindex of items stored in the unified structure of the archive, anorganizational structure that supports user-defined categories thatcharacterize items stored in the unified structure and at least onebackup queue that temporarily queues a list of items that meetpredetermined backup criteria. The items listed in each backup queueremain in their corresponding backup queue until a backup of that itemhas been completed. The archive service serves as an intermediatebetween users, e.g., operators, software modules, programs, services,etc., and the archive storage to control requests for access to itemsstored in the unified storage structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of the preferred embodiments ofvarious embodiments of the present invention can be best understood whenread in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure isindicated with like reference numerals, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an archive illustrating examples of digitalcontent that can be archived according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of users interacting with the archive of FIG.1 through an archive service;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary naming structure for itemsstored in an archive;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary hashed item storage structureaccording to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary contents of a manifestaccording to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary structure foruser-defined definitions;

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a computer system that may beutilized to support an archive according to aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the media archive and a shadow copy of thearchive;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the archive service operating on multiplebackup queues; and

FIG. 10 is an exemplary timeline control which may be used to retrieveand locate items stored within the archive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration, and not by way oflimitation, specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilizedand that changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof various embodiments of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, an archive 10is utilized to collect, store, organize, archive, catalog, retrieveand/or manage digital content. Exemplary digital content may include,but is not limited to, downloaded or otherwise electronicallytransferred digital media 12, e.g., music, images, photographs, videoetc., downloaded across a network such as the Internet; digital videocontent 14, e.g., RM, MOV, MPG, etc., files from a video recorder,camcorder or other device that renders video to digital form; digitalphotographs and other digital images, such as JPG, TIFF, GIF, etc.,files from digital still image technologies 16 including digitalcameras; digital content from scanners, facsimile machines, all-in-oneand similar devices 18; digital audio 20, such as WAV, MP3, AIF, AU,WMA, etc., files; existing digital information 20 and other sources 24.The other sources 24 may comprise for example, files that are created todescribe collections of the digital content within the archive 10, e.g.,in the form of albums, scrapbooks, a manifest, notes, journals and othertypes of files, examples of which will be described in greater detailherein.

Conceptually, the archive 10 may be considered as a unitary “archive”folder, which may be maintained on a single storage device ordistributed across multiple storage devices. Within the archive folderis a set of folders (and subfolders). These folders contain all of theoriginal digital content, e.g., images, video, audio, etc. Further, thefolders may store revisions of original digital content, descriptions ofthe digital content and tools to backup, sort, classify, locate and/orretrieve desired items of content, including for example, sort boxes,albums, journal boxes, timeline search tools, etc.

Referring to FIG. 2, one exemplary implementation of the archive 10comprises an archive storage area 30 for storing items, which ischaracterized by a unified storage structure 32 and a manifest 34. Theunified storage structure 32 includes an archive folder and anycorresponding subfolders. All items associated with the archive 10 arecopied into the archive storage area 30, and are logically containedwithin the unitary archive folder (or a corresponding subfolderthereof). Moreover, when copying digital content into the archive 10,the original source information may be left unaltered and not damaged ordeleted, thus preserving the underlying data.

The archive 10 may be periodically accessed to perform routinemaintenance, e.g., by performing backups and by running diagnostics toensure that the digital content is maintained in serviceable condition.Due at least in part to the unified storage structure 32, a backup mayconveniently save everything necessary to completely restore the archive10 or a portion thereof, even if the original archive informationbecomes damaged or lost. Additionally, the unified storage structure 32allows, for example, easy upgrade to a new computer or to move thesoftware and archive storage area 30 to a different computer or storagelocation.

The archive storage area 30 is a dedicated storage area and may beimplemented, for example, as a primary directory (and subdirectories) ona storage medium in communication with a corresponding host processingdevice. Alternatively, a system based upon compressed formats, databaseformats, or other custom or open standard formats may be implemented.

The archive storage area 30 may be stored on one or more storagemedium(s), which may comprise, for example, a fixed disk or disk arraywithin or otherwise connected to the host processing device, e.g., aconventional hard disk or RAID configured disks, a shared resource suchas a network attached storage device, a removable or otherwise swappablestorage medium, e.g., a Universal Serial Bus enabled storage device, aFirewire enabled device, an Ethernet enabled device, etc.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the user does not needto manage the storage structure 32, the archive storage area 30, or anyother aspect of the archive 10. Rather, the archive storage area 30 maybe considered a ‘black box’ in this respect, if the user so desires.Users place items into the archive and retrieve items from the archive,but how the archive arranges these files may not be known or fullyunderstood by the user. In this regard, search tools and other aids maybe associated with the archive 10 to allow a user to identify and locateitems of interest. Exemplary searching and browsing tools will bedescribed in greater detail herein. Alternatively, information may beprovided with regard to the internal structure of the archive 10 forthose users who are interested or require an understanding of theorganization of the archive 10.

The archive storage area 30 may optionally be marked as a “special”directory, e.g., to provide a layer of protection to the storagestructure 32. The manner in which the storage structure 32 is marked asspecial (if marked at all) will depend upon a number of factors, such asthe characteristics of the host processing device. For example, if thehost processing device is operating under the Microsoft Windowsoperating system by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond Washington, thestorage structure 32 may be marked as special using suitable Windowsshell extensions. For example, the Windows operating system allowssoftware to extend the shell, e.g, Windows Explorer, to create areas ofthe disk that behave differently than normal directories.

Alternatively, an optional information file 36 such as a ‘readme’ filemay be utilized to mark the storage structure 32 as a special directory.The optional information file 36 may be stored for example, at a knownor otherwise specified location within the storage structure 32. Theoptional information file 36 may be utilized, for example, to inform theuser to be careful when making changes to the directory structure of thearchive storage area 30.

The manifest 34 may be stored, for example, at a known or otherwisespecified location within the archive storage area 30 and provides anindex to the content items and other information associated with thearchive 10. The manifest 34 may further provide additional informationfor support, maintenance and usage of the archive 10 and its contents.The manifest 34 will be described in greater detail herein.

An archive service 38 is provided to serve as an intermediate betweenthe items stored in the archive storage area 30 and correspondinginteracting users, which may comprise for example, hardware devices 40,software applications and modules 42, human operators 44, softwareservices 46 and/or other hardware or software processes 48. In additionto handling requests from users for access to items stored in thearchive storage area 30, the archive service 38 updates and maintain themanifest 34 and may handle maintenance and administrative tasksassociated with maintaining the archive.

As noted above, the user of the archive 10 need not know either theinternal structure of the archive storage area 30 or its storagelocation. In this regard, the archive service 38 may be used to shieldall the implementation details of the archive 10 from the correspondinginteracting user, e.g., an application or human user requesting accessto a particular archived item. Moreover, the archive service 38 maysupport an interface for providing searching, browsing and other toolsto facilitate user interaction with the archive 10.

Depending upon the specific implementation of the archive 10, thearchive service 38 may require that a user “register” file formats thatit is unfamiliar with, e.g., using a suitable interface. Such may bedesirable where, for example, the runtime addition of new file formatsis desired/required or where the archive service 38 cannot determine howto process a particular file, etc.

The archive service 38 may be written in any suitable language. Forexample, if operating under above mentioned Microsoft Windows operatingsystem, the archive service 38 may be written in C# and may be shared byloading Net assemblies into a common EXE file. Further the archiveservice 38 may be accessed via a remote procedure call interface acrossa process/network boundary, which is suitable for shared access by manyprocesses to a common shared archive storage area 30. Correspondingly,the archive storage area 30 may be implemented to support single ormultiple users, e.g., using standard multi-user access methods forshared resources.

Referring to FIG. 3, items 60 that are stored in the archive storagearea 30 may include a file name 62, an item identification (hereinafterItem ID) 64 and optionally, an indication of a revision 66. The filename 62 is any conventional filename, which may include a filedesignation and optionally, a period (“.”) and a three characterextension. According to an aspect of the present invention, all items inthe archive storage area 30 have an item ID 64, which provides a uniqueidentifier. As an example, the item ID 64 may comprise a simplefunction, e.g., a numeric or alphanumeric designation appended to orotherwise concatenated with the original file name 62 of a correspondingfile. If an original filename 62 and item ID 64 are already used, acounter or other suitable logical arrangement may be used to adjust,e.g., increment or decrement, the item ID 64 of the current item to besaved. As such, the names of a given item's files are a function of thecorresponding item ID.

Some item types, e.g., digital images, can have zero to multiplerevisions. In one exemplary implementation, all indications of revision66 are referenced under their corresponding original item. The filenameof a revision is a function of an assigned revision code, e.g., arevision number and the corresponding Item ID 64. Thus, the Item ID maybe determined from the revision name.

Referring to FIG. 4, the storage structure 32 of the archive storagearea 30 may comprise a hashed directory structure 70. The hasheddirectory structure 70 comprises a root directory 72 and a 64 waysub-directory as shown. The sub-directory 74 is determined, for example,by using the modulus 64 of a corresponding hash function. Thesubdirectory 74 could alternatively consist of any other number ofhashed directories.

According to an exemplary implementation of the storage structure 32, anitem is stored in one of the item subdirectories and the name of thissubdirectory is a hash on the item's ID 64. For example, a subdirectorymay be named based upon a .Net hash of the string that is the itemID/revision 64, 66. The standard Microsoft .Net version 1 string hashfunction (or any other suitable has function) may be utilized. Moreover,other naming conventions may be implemented. However, if the hashfunction is a strict function of the filename and no other information,the location of the item may be determined independently of the othercontent or the state of the archive storage area 30.

That is, when items are stored within the archive storage area 30, ahash function is applied to the item ID 64 (which is a function of theoriginal file name 62 ). This hash is then used to determine where inthe archive storage area 30 the file will be located. If a first item isalready stored at an indicated location, the keys of the previouslystored item and the current item are compared. If the keys hash to thesame value, then an alternative storage location may be selected for thenewer item.

The hashed directory structure 70 need not be implemented on a singlephysical storage device. Rather, the hashed directory structure 70 maybe spread out across different physical storage devices. Hashing filesover multiple storage devices may provide a relatively even use ofstorage resources and access bandwidth of the host processing device. Ahashing scheme is not necessary. However, distinguishing the digitalcontent using hashing or other key-based or index-based schemes mayprovide for relatively rapid access to items in the archive storage area30, especially as the number of items grows.

The manifest 34 describes the archive storage area 30 and the locationsof its item contents. The manifest 34 may also store informationregarding special processing capabilities of the archive, e.g., that maybe used to sort, backup, organize, describe or otherwise characterizethe stored items. Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary implementation ofthe manifest 34 comprises a manifest structure 80 that supports an itemindex 82, an organizational structure 84, one or more backup queues 86and optionally, a hashing modulus 88 that is used for the hashingfunction described with reference to FIG. 4.

The manifest 34 may be constructed and maintained in an open standardformat such as the extended markup language (XML). Such use of standardformats provides transparency in that proprietary software applicationsare not required to read the manifest 34. Thus, for example, a user mayread the manifest using any XML capable program to locate a file ofinterest. Moreover, the use of an appropriate industry standardformat(s) to construct the manifest 34 makes the archive robust andallows future applications as well as third party applications theability to interact with the archive 10.

The archive service 38 maintains the manifest 34. As files are added toand/or edited and/or removed from the archive storage area 30, themanifest 34 is updated by the archive service 38 to properly identifythe contents of the archive storage area 30. The archive service 38 mayalso utilize the manifest 34 to keep track of item revisions. The use ofthe manifest 34 further provides a health check for the archive storagearea 30. By matching files actually in the archive storage area 30 withthe contents of the manifest 34, it is possible to detect when files inthe archive storage area 30 are missing or when extra files in thearchive storage area 30 exist.

According to one aspect of the present invention, when the archiveservice 38 saves the manifest 34, the entire manifest 34 is saved. Thismay be performed, for example, as an atomic operation. A copy of thecurrent state of the manifest 34 may be saved to a file upon anoccurrence of a predetermined event, such as when a predetermined numberof changes have been made to the state of items in the archive storagearea 30 and/or when a predetermined period of time has elapsed. Themanifest may be initially saved to a file that is ‘next to’ the currentmanifest file. Under this arrangement, when the entire save operation iscomplete, the newly saved manifest file replaces the previous manifestfile. The previous manifest file may then be renamed to serve forexample, as a backup manifest file. The above-described operation tosave a manifest 34 may be implemented, from the perspective of the user,as a single operation.

Moreover, multiple generations of the manifest 34 may be saved. Forexample, a backup of the manifest may be stored when the manifest issaved. Still further, additional backups of the manifest 34 may bestored using a grandfathering backup system. Under this arrangement, acorrupted/missing manifest may be automatically recovered from the nextavailable backup the next time the archive storage area 30 is loaded.

Psuedo code is presented below for an exemplary backup operation of themanifest 34 that illustrates the use of backupgenerations/grandfathering to maintain multiple backups of the manifest34 captured at different times:

/// This class manages the naming and age of backup generations. ///This allows many generations of a file to be maintained. public classBackupGeneration {   private BackupGeneration  objPrevious = null;  private int nGeneration;   private TimeSpan tsAge; /// Returns abackup generation that uses a standard timespan pattern.   public staticBackupGeneration StandardSpans ( )   {   TimeSpan[ ] spans = newTimeSpan[7];   spans[0] = new TimeSpan (0L);       // Always rollover  spans[1] = new TimeSpan (0L);   spans[2] = new TimeSpan (0L);  spans[3] = new TimeSpan (1, 0, 0, 0, 0);   spans[4] = new TimeSpan (7,0, 0, 0, 0);   spans[5] = new TimeSpan (30, 0, 0, 0, 0);   spans[6] =new TimeSpan (90, 0, 0, 0, 0);   return new BackupGeneration (spans);  }   /// Returns a backup generation set based on the specified timespans.   public BackupGeneration(TimeSpan[ ] Spans)   {    if(Spans.GetLength(0) < 2) throw new Exception (“There   must be at leasttwo time spans in the generation definition   array.”);    tsAge =Spans[0];    nGeneration = 1;    objPrevious = new BackupGeneration(this, Spans);   }   /// Builds the next generation backup given a setof time spans.   private BackupGeneration(BackupGeneration NextGen,TimeSpan[ ] Spans)   {    nGeneration = NextGen.Generation + 1;    tsAge= Spans[nGeneration−1];    if (nGeneration < Spans.GetLength(0))    objPrevious = new BackupGeneration (this, Spans);   }   /// This isthe public entry point to start the generational roll on a specified  /// file. This file must exist for anything to happen.   public boolRollGeneration (string Filename)   {    if (!File.Exists (Filename))return false;    return RollGeneration (Filename, newFileInfo(Filename));   }   /// This performs the real work of thegenerational backup system. If the   /// file for this generation existsthen an attempt is made to roll it to   /// the previous (re: older)generation. In any case, the target file will   /// not exist with itoriginal name after this call.   private bool RollGeneration (stringBaseFilename, FileInfo ParentFile)   {    // If the file for thisgeneration is not old enough, then the    // generational roll stopshere    DateTime dt = ParentFile.LastWriteTime;    TimeSpan ts =DateTime.Now.Subtract(dt);    if (ts < tsAge) return false;    // Rollthis generations file back to the next oldest generation    string sFile= ThisGenerationsFilename (BaseFilename);    if ((objPrevious != null)&& (File.Exists (sFile))) {     FileInfo fiOld = new FileInfo (sFile);    objPrevious.RollGeneration (BaseFilename, fiOld);    }    if(File.Exists (sFile)) FileSupport.SafeKill (sFile);    File.Move(ParentFile.FullName, sFile); return true;   }   /// Given a specifiedbase filename, this method returns a version of that   /// file for thegeneration of this instance.   private string ThisGenerationsFilename(string BaseFilename)   {    string sExt = Path.GetExtension(BaseFilename);    string sBase = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(BaseFilename);    string sPath = Path.GetDirectoryName (BaseFilename);   string sNewName = String.Format (“{0} - (Backup Generation {1}){2}”,sBase, nGeneration, sExt);    sNewName = Path.Combine (sPath, sNewName);   return sNewName;   } }

As noted above, the manifest 34 may maintain a user-definedorganizational structure 84 that allows a user to customize,characterize and classify items stored in the archive storage area 30.Referring to FIG. 6, an exemplary organizational structure 84 comprisesa definition of user-defined categories comprising one or more rootcategories 90. For each root category 90 there may be any number(including zero) of subcategories 92. This characterization can beextended by defining any-number of subcategories of subcategories, etc.For each root category 90 and subcategory 92, there may be any number(including zero) of container items 94.

Container Items 94 are items in the archive storage area 30 that arelists of other items. The can be many types, e.g., classes, of containeritems 94. As an illustrative example, an organizational structure 84 maybe comprised of two root categories 90, such as an Organizer and aBookshelf. There may be any number of subcategories 92 under each of theOrganizer and a Bookshelf, depending upon the particular userapplication. Moreover, there may be two defined container items 94, suchas folders and albums, each of which may be associated with one or moreof the root categories 90 and subcategories 92.

The organizational structure 84 is not used to actually store items.Rather, the organizational structure 84 is a tool, e.g., as implementedthrough an interface via the archive service 38, that allows a user tohave one or more different “views” of the items stored in the archivestorage area 30 by maintaining corresponding lists of related orotherwise associated items. This allows the user to quickly find adesired item of interest.

The archive service 38 may provide a suitable interface so that a usercan create, edit, maintain and delete root categories 90, sub-categories92 and container items 94. Moreover, the archive service 38 may be usedto allow a user to interact with the organizational structure 84 toidentify items of interest that are stored in the archive storage area30, such as by implementing visualizing, browsing and other softwaretechniques.

The manifest 34 may further comprise a ‘Check’, which is a messagedigest of item list information and secret information. This allows theability to throttle archive storage usage based on the activation stateof the application and prevent tampering with the archive 10. The checkis a checksum or message digest of the manifest contents. The archiveservice 38 can use this to detect if the manifest 34 has been changed byany other entity. The manifest 34 contains a count of the number oftimes the archive 10 has been opened by the user. The check preventsthis counter from being changed. Therefore, the counter can be safelyused to limit usage of the archive until the archive service 38 isproperly activated.

A pseudo-code for an exemplary XML based manifest 34 is illustratedbelow for a sample archive that has been simplified for purposes of.illustration. The manifest code presented below includes a manifestformat Version and Global unique ID GUID:

-   -   Version=“AV1” ID=“c895e151-dcf4-4c95-9660-41002b21f229”

The manifest code presented below also includes a checksum, which may beused for health checks as noted above. As illustrated, the checksumassumes is a binary value that is base 64 encoded. However, other binaryto string encoding schemes can be used:

-   -   Check=“3327862040FFshYQU167gNZyuT5eCouVqA==”>

The exemplary pseudo code further illustrates a manifest 34 thatincludes multiple items associated with a container item 94, multiplerevisions to an item (an image in the illustrative example), and astructure for the organizer and bookshelf root categories 90 describedabove. The manifest further illustrates a backup queue. This is a ‘|’(pipe character) delimited list of item IDs.

<Manifest Version=“AV1” ID=“c895e151-dcf4-4c95-9660-41002b21f229”Title=“Sample Archive” Check=“3327862040FFshYQU167gNZyuT5eCouVqA==”> <Items>   <Container ID=“Mom.containerx” Name=“Mom” Impt=“5/2/20063:25:04 PM” Bkup=“6/20/2006 12:27:55 PM” Rate=“0” Prn=“False”Cat=“Family” />   <Image ID=“DSCF1426 (rev 1)” Name=“Father and son”Impt=“5/2/2006 3:25:44 PM” Bkup=“6/20/2006 12:27:55 PM” Rate=“3”Prn=“False” Med=“Simple|2004|7|20|15|0|44|362”>    <Rev Act=“True”Org=“True” Prt=“True” Fil=“DSCF1426 (rev 1) (rev 1).jpg” W=“983”H=“1280” Rev=“1” />   </Image>   <Image ID=“DSCF1625” Name=“Evening atpark” Impt=“5/2/2006 3:25:46 PM” Bkup=“6/20/2006 12:27:55 PM” Rate=“3”Prn=“True” Med=“Simple|2004|8|2|20|20|6|0”>    <Desc>This imagedemonstrates the use of the lighting adjustment tools to enhance thecontrast and bring out the reds and blues in the sky.</Desc>    <RevAct=“False” Org=“True” Prt=“True” Fil=“DSCF1625 (rev 1).jpg” W=“1600”H=“1200” Rev=“1” />    <Rev Act=“True” Org=“False” Prt=“True”Fil=“DSCF1625 (rev 2).jpg” W=“1400” H=“933” Rev=“2” />   </Image>  ... </Items>   <BackupQueues NextSet=“3”> <Queue NextID=“46”QueueType=“DiskSet” SetID=“1” AutoUpdate=“False” LastLocation=“”LastTransaction=“G0001-01-01-    00-00-00-000”>   <Queued>DSC_2555|DSC_2556|DSC_2513|    DSC_2514SC_2953</Queued>  <Deleted> DSC_1555.jpg |DSC_1556.jpg</Deleted>   </Queue> <QueueNextID=“27” QueueType=“ShadowCopy” SetID=“2” AutoUpdate=“True”LastLocation=“F:\Backup\Family Archive Shadow” LastTransaction=“G2006-04-01-21-41-32-000” />  </BackupQueues>  <Organizer>    <Category Name=“My Sort Boxes” TagType=“Folder”>   <Category Name=“Events” TagType=“Folder” /> <Category Name=“Family”TagType=“Folder”  />...</Category></Organizer>   <Bookshelf>   <Category Name=“My Bookshelves” TagType=“Folder”>    <CategoryName=“Birthdays” TagType=“Folder” /> <Category Name=“Weddings”TagType=“Folder” />...</Category></Bookshelf> </Manifest>

In general, there are four main sections to the exemplary manifest code.The first section is the main manifest tag. The main manifest tagcontains the identity of the archive 10 in addition to the checksum andID information. The next section is the item list. The item list is thelist of contents stored in the archive. The next section of the manifestcode is the backup queue section. The manifest 34 may support aplurality of backup queues 86. As illustrated, there are two backupqueues, including a first backup queue directed to implement backupsonto a CD/DVD media device, and a second backup queue directed toimplement backups via a shadow copy. The operation and implementation ofbackup queues is described in further detail herein. The last mainsection of the exemplary manifest code describes the set of user definedcategories used to organize the items stored in the archive 10, whichare also described in greater detail herein.

As noted above, each root category 90 or subcategory 92 may have zero toa plurality of containers 94. As an additional example, a pseudo codefor an exemplary container file format is provided below. This code maycomprise an extension of the manifest code illustrated above. In theexample, a Category 90 named “Memorabilia” has a Container 94 named“Artwork”. There are two exemplary item IDs associated with the Artworkcontainer.

<Container Name=“Artwork” Notes=“” Category=“Memorabilia”>  <ItemId=“handart” />  <Item Id=“Indianart” />  ... </Container>

As noted above, there may be two or more container types, e.g., foldersand albums. Below is an example of an album, which is named “SampleAlbum” that is in a Category of “Other”. The exemplary album shows thename of the album and the last known category in which, it was located,an (optionally ordered) list of item IDs and journal boxes. The examplefurther shows a journal box entry with GUID, title, body text,formatting information, and the use of ‘UseDefaults’ flags, which ifset, ignore local formatting information and use the application journalbox defaults.

<Album Title=“Sample Album” Description=“” Category=“Other”>  <Entries>  <Journal Id=“8aaedd9e-9881-403d-9a12-bd2883509c4c” Title=“My SampleAlbum” UseDefaults=“True” TitleFont=“” BodyFont=“” IsPortrait=“True”ShowBorder=“False” BackColor=“#0,0,0” ForeColor=“#0,0,0”BorderColor=“#0,0,0” Alignment=“Center”>    <Journal>This albumpresents...</Journal>   </Journal>   <Item ItemId=“DSC_0334 (rev 2)” />  <Item ItemId=“LC-2004-01-28 193638” />   ...  </Entries> </Album>As the examples illustrate, collection items can be used to ‘group’items together. The ‘category’ field in the collection maps thecategories described in the manifest 34.

The organization of the items in the archive storage area 30 may bedescribed via the manifest 34 without requiring a database, e.g., bystoring relevant information in an XML (or other open standard) manifestof the archive. Moreover, all associated files may be open standardformats. For example, the manifest 34, including any files, such ascontainer files (albums and folders, etc.,) may be implemented in XML.Further, sort box and bookshelf information may be stored in thecontainer items 94. Also as noted above, item IDs may be created as afunction of the original item's filename. Item revisions may be named,for example, using a function of the item's ID and the revision number.In this regard, much of the manifest information can be recovered orrebuilt from the archive storage directory structure, filenames, andfile content should the manifest 34 become lost, corrupt, damaged, etc.

One way to preserve the integrity of stored items is to make frequentbackup copies of the items that have changed. Referring back to FIG. 5,the manifest 34 may have one or more backup queues 86. A backup queue 86is a list of items in the archive storage area 30 that meetpredetermined backup criteria for that queue. For example, a backupqueue may queue up items that have been changed or that have not yetbeen backed up. Under appropriate conditions, the archive service 38implements a backup of the items in the corresponding backup queue 86 toa designated device.

Referring to FIG. 7, a representative computer system 100 is illustratedin which an archive 10 may be created, accessed and utilized to collect,store, organize, archive, catalog, retrieve and/or manage digitalcontent. The system 100 comprises a host processing device 102 uponwhich a user interacts with the archive storage area 30. Arepresentative host processing device 102 may comprise, for example, ageneral purpose personal computer (PC), server, notebook computer,appliance or pervasive computing device, such as a personal dataassistant (PDA), palm computer, cellular access processing device orother suitable device capable of supporting or otherwise interactingwith the archive 10.

The host processing device 102 typically includes at least one processor104 for executing software code including the archive service 38. Theprocessing device 102 also includes system memory 106, such as randomaccess memory (RAM) for temporarily storing software code that is beingexecuted by the processor 102. The manifest 34 is also loaded intosystem memory 106. According to one aspect of the present invention, theentire manifest 34 may be loaded into system memory 106 during operationof the archive service 34. Putting the entire manifest 34 into systemmemory 106 allows the archive service 38 the capability of quicklylocating, accessing and otherwise operating on the archive storage,including saving the manifest itself.

The processing device 102 also comprises disk or other permanent storage108 for storing files of information including software applications,data files etc., a handling mechanism 110, which is typically providedto facilitate communication between the system memory 106 and thepermanent storage 108 and a plurality of input output devices (I/O)devices 112, which allow external devices to communicate with theprocessor 104. The processing device 102 further includes suitablesoftware including an operating system 114 and one or more applications116, which are typically stored in the permanent storage 108 and aretemporarily copied into the system memory 106 for execution. Theprocessing device 102 may also include an application programminginterface (API) 118 as well as any additional hardware and/or softwareas necessary for operation as is well understood in the art.

The host processing device 102 may have permanent or temporary access toadditional storage devices, such as a compact disk (CD)/Digital VideoDisk (DVD) burner 120 and/or one or more storage devices 122, 124, suchas zip drives, USB drives, Firewire drives, compact flash drives andother internally mounted or externally connected devices.

The system 100 may further include one or more processing devices 126,e.g., computers that are connected to the host processing device 102 bya local network, peer to peer network, wireless, infrared or other byusing any other suitable communications interface and correspondingtechnology. Additionally, the host processing device 102 may communicateto one or more server computers 128A-128B, e.g., by connecting across anetwork 130, such as the Internet. For example, the I/O devices 112 mayinclude a network interface that includes hardware and/or software forcommunicating across the network 130.

The (entire) manifest 34 and the archive service 38 are loaded into thesystem memory 106 of the host processing device 102 during operation ofthe archive 10. The archive storage area 30 and corresponding items maybe stored, for example, in the disk storage 108. When a user 40, 42, 44,46, 48 requests access to an item in the archive storage area 30, thearchive service 38 locates the item using the item index 82 in themanifest 34 and the corresponding item is retrieved, stored etc.depending upon the intended operation. Because the entire manifest 34may be loaded into system memory 106, retrieval, storage and updatingcan be accomplished in a quick and efficient manner.

As noted above, the manifest 34 supports multiple backup queues 86. Asone example, a first backup queue can be designated as a CD/DVD backupqueue. Under this arrangement, the archive service 38 periodicallywrites copies of the items identified in that backup queue to thespecified CD/DVD drive, e.g., drive 120. For example, the backup queuewhich is targeted to a CD/DVD will move a block of files identified inthe CD/DVD backup queue to the CD/DVD drive 120 when the user places anappropriate media device, e.g., a blank or otherwise writable CD/DVD inthe drive 120. As an alternative, the archive service 38 may scheduleroutine backup times or other suitable triggering events and/orconditions can be identified and defined. If there is information in thebackup queue at the designated backup time, the archive service 38notifies the user that a backup operation is recommended. The user mayopt to proceed with the backup or ignore or otherwise delay the backup.If the user does not complete the backup operation, the CD/DVD backupqueue will continue to accumulate backup information until a successfulbackup operation is implemented to an appropriate CD or DVD media.

As another example, a second backup queue can be designates as a shadowcopy queue. A backup queue targeted to a shadow copy moves files to areplica of the archive storage area 30. The shadow copy may be locatedelsewhere on the disk storage 108. As a further example, the shadow copymay reside on one or more of the devices 122, 124, 126. If the shadowcopy is written to a swappable or otherwise removable media, e.g., a USBor compact flash drive, and the device is not available at the scheduledor otherwise intended backup time, the shadow copy queue 86 may continueto log information until a successful backup can be completed, in amanner analogous to that described above.

As a further example, a shadow backup queue 86 could back up to astorage space on a remote server, e.g., the server 128A, which maycomprise a dedicated archive protection appliance. This archiveprotection appliance may provide a simple and easy to understand devicethat works with the shadow backup queue.

Still further, there can be a plurality of backup queues, each with adifferent destination and a different set of guidelines as to when(and/or what content) to back up. For example, a first backup queue 86may be configured to perform a weekly backup to storage on a firstserver 128A. A second backup queue 86 may be configured to perform amonthly backup to storage on a second server 128B. Still further,additional backup queues 86 may be set up to periodically back up to aDVD or CD via drive 120, an additional backup queue 86 could be set upto perform yet a different backup to a removable media on device 122,124 and yet a further backup could be made to a shadow area designatedon the disk storage 108 internal to the host processor 102 or to device126.

The backup queue operation may be performed automatically whenever atriggering event or condition occurs, e.g., a programmed time period haselapsed, a corresponding application shuts down, a file or predeterminednumber of files have changed, been moved, created, removed, etc. If thebackup copy location is temporarily unavailable, the correspondingbackup queue continues to maintain and grow as necessary, thecorresponding backup information until that backup copy location becomesavailable.

Whenever an item is changed, created, removed or otherwise satisfiespredefined criteria for backup, it may be listed in one or more(including all) of the corresponding backup queues 86. Item referencesare removed from each backup queue 86 whenever a backup operation thatsaved that item is totally complete. As one example, the entire backupoperation corresponding to backing up all items in a particular backupqueue 86 is an atomic level operation, such that all items are backed upsuccessfully in a given operation, or no items are removed from thecorresponding backup queue.

There are a number of schemes that can be implemented for administeringthe backup queues. For example, as noted above, items that are changedmay be automatically queued for backup, including queuing the changeditem in every established backup queue 86. In this exemplaryconfiguration, items are backed up in the order they were queued forbackup. If any part of an item requires backup, then the entire item isbacked up. As another example, users may also be able to explicitly addand remove items queued for backup. Moreover, users may be prompted tobackup items on startup of the archive service 38, if, for example, athreshold number of megabytes or a threshold number of items requirebackup. Under this arrangement, the user may be able to set theappropriate thresholds. As yet another example, the user may be providedwith the option to backup the entire archive 10.

Each backup may also comprise, for example, a copy of the manifest 34and/or a backup queue content file (XML) that lists the items on thebackup.

As an alternative to maintaining the archive storage area 30 on the diskstorage 108 of the host processing device 102, the host computer may becoupled to a remote storage appliance (dedicated storage device), suchas a media system 132. The media system 132 is a separate storagedevice, and may be a turnkey system or general purpose system thatsupports the archive storage area 30. The media system 132 may serve asthe central storage, archival and retrieval system for a home multimediacenter, thus alleviating the burdens on the host computer 102 forstoring the items in the archive storage. A large range of dedicatednetwork/line attached archive devices may be utilized with the variousaspects of the archive storage area 30.

Items within the archive storage area 30 may be viewed using a suitablelibrary application that interacts with the archive service 38. Thelibrary may be organized using an organizer panel, which contains sortboxes and folders, e.g., which themselves may be saved, as items withinthe archive storage area 30. For example, sort boxes may contain folderitems that classify digital content items in a predefined manner.

Referring to FIG. 8, the archive service 38 can effectively manage thearchive 10 as well as maintain one or more shadow copies 140 of thearchive. One of the backup queues 86 may be utilized to define andmanage the shadow copy 140, e.g., which may be provided on a permanentlyaccessible location, e.g., a hard drive, media system etc. or anintermittent connection such as a Universal Serial Bus or Networkconnection, etc. According to an aspect of the present invention, theshadow copy 140 contains a replication of the archive contents,including the archive storage area 30, manifest 34 and other supportfiles. Additionally, the shadow copy 140 may comprise a marker file orother additional information that maintains a reference to the originalarchive 10. Still further, as noted above, multiple shadow copies 140may be maintained, e.g., in a grandfathering or other arrangement wheremultiple iterations or different previous versions of the archive aresaved in each shadow copy 140.

With reference to FIG. 9, as noted in greater detail herein, the archiveservice 38 may be configured such that every event that is to be backedup is sent to every backup queue 86. As such, every item that is added,removed and/or updated is also updated in each backup queue 86.

It is also possible to have different rules and operations when backingup to different backup queues 86. For example, it may be useful toestablish different rules for backing up to a CD/DVD backup compared toa shadow copy. For example, when backing up to a CD/DVD, for each itemadded or updated, the corresponding item ID or other suitable indicatormay be placed at the front of the CD/DVD backup queue 86. Eventsdesignating that one or more items have been removed from the archivestorage area 30 may be ignored. Under this arrangement, CD/DVD items arecopied to the backup media (writable CD or DVD) in the order they appearin the CD/DVD backup queue 86. If the next item is too large to fit ontothe media, the next item in the CD/DVD backup queue 86 may be tried,etc. This process may continue until all queued items are suitablybacked up, across one or more CD/DVD media disks. Further, the completemanifest may be copied to each CD or DVD media disk if multiple mediadisks are required for the backup. Still further, a content file, e.g.,containing a list of items on the backup may be copied to each mediadisk, and/or each media disk may receive a unique content file of thecontents on that media disk.

In an exemplary implementation of a shadow copy backup queue 86, foreach item added or updated in the archive 10, the corresponding item IDor other suitable indicator may be queued in a “changed archive itemslist” of the shadow copy backup queue 86 to identify items that havechanged. Further items that have been removed from the archive 10 may beadded to a “deleted files list” of the shadow copy backup queue 86.Accordingly, on a shadow copy update, deleted files may be removed fromthe shadow copy first. Then, the files from the changed archive itemslist may be copied to the shadow copy. Files that have not changed sincethe last backup may be skipped. Further, the complete manifest may becopied to the shadow copy for each update operation.

As noted above, tools may be provided to assist a user in retrievingitems from the archive storage area 30. Some additional examples ofsearch and retrieval tools are illustrated below. As an illustrativeexample, content items may be rated and sorted based upon ratings, suchas a five-star rating system or other arbitrary classification techniquethat may be used to provide an additional view or views into the contentof the items stored in the archive storage area 30, e.g., by setting upthe appropriate categories and containers 90, 92, 94.

Still further, as noted above, containers may comprise folders or albumsand/or other suitable organizational metaphor(s). Albums may be useful,for example, in the context of images, to tell a story of a collectionof images. Journal entries and other additional content may be added tothe album to preserve information as noted in the exemplary codeprovided in greater detail herein.

A date and time may be assigned to each item of content stored in thearchive storage area 30. Dates and times assigned to each item ofcontent may be precise or fuzzy. For example, months can be specified bynumber, accepted abbreviations full name, etc. The archive service 38may assign an item to a position in a time based upon its time and/ordate or date(s) or date range(s). The specific implementation for theconversion of fuzzy time and date entries can vary. However, by way ofexample, a user may enter: “sometime in 1972 ”. In response thereto, thearchive service 38 may translate this to Jan. 1, 1972-Dec. 31, 1972,etc.

As used herein, a fuzzy date is a date that covers an arbitrary range ofdates and/or times. For example, a user may not know the date of an oldpicture, video clip or musical arrangement. Moreover, a user may want toassign an arbitrary date to an item. Content items may be dated basedupon the date that the content was created, the date added to thearchive or any arbitrary date assigned by the user. For example, aphotograph of a historical landmark may be dated corresponding to ahistorical period, e.g., a picture of Stonehenge could be classifiedbased upon a date that the photograph was taken, or upon anapproximation of the date that Stonehenge was built. Still further, oncea date is associated with an item, the date may be broadened, narrowed,etc.

As another example, a video clip may be taken of the battlefield ofGettysburg during a tour of the field during the summer of 2006.However, the user may want to date the footage based upon the date ofthe Civil War battle, e.g., summer of 1863. Further, the exact date andtime of an item may not be known and may never be known. Although, it ispossible that additional refinements of the date may be possible in thefuture as more information become available.

The dating system may also allow for the specification of holidays andseasons. The exact date of some holidays may vary from year to year (ex:lunar calendar holidays like Easter and Passover) so the application hasto know how to calculate these variable holidays. It also allows for theuser to specify other fuzzy notations, such as seasons, ex: summer,summer vacation, the hot season, etc. The dating system may also allowfor circa or ‘about’ dates. These are extra ranges around another date.For example: ‘circa the summer of 1970’ may mean an actual date rangegreater than just the ‘summer of 1970’. The user may also be able tospecify the meaning of words like ‘summer’ or ‘about’ to user definedranges. Moreover, time and date information may be influenced bygeography, e.g., which may allow for the automatic setting of someinformation based on the geographic information know about an image. Forexample: “summer” for a picture taken in Florida may have a defined timerange that is different from a time range for “summer” associated with apicture taken in Canada.

As a few illustrative examples, if a user enters Jan. 14, 1972 3:00 PM,a time code of Jan. 14, 1972, 15:00 hours may be associated with acorresponding item. As another example, if a user enters Autumn (orfall) 1942, a time code of Sep. 1, 1942 thorough Nov. 30, 1942 may beassociated with a corresponding item. As yet a further example, if auser enters early 1977, a time code of Jan. 1, 1977 through Jun. 30,1977 may be associated with a corresponding item.

Item content may be viewed by time/date using a time/date scalingfeature. The time/date scale provides a sliding scale that allows a userto search through content items that have been classified by time/date,e.g., by traversing forwards and backwards along an appropriate scale,thus allowing a user to view both older and newer content in differentways.

Referring to FIG. 10, the archive service 138 may provide a timescalecontrol 150 that is designed to allow the user to visualize differentamounts of time and to change these view very rapidly. The items in thearchive storage area 30 are identified by time/date, which, as notedabove, can be precise or fuzzy, and are associated with the timescalecontrol to allow a user to quickly perform chronologically basedsearches for archive content. In one exemplary implementation, thisscale is determined by an internal variable that defines the number ofseconds each pixel on the screen represents; call the ‘pixelseconds’.

The user is shown the current pixelseconds on a notched slider or othersuitable visual icon. The user can slide the slider 152 to select therequired timescale. For example, the slider 152 may be notched with thepixelsecond settings, such as for centuries, decades, years, months,weeks, days, etc. A single mouse click may also be used to snap thepixelsecond settings to the closest notch. The timescale windows updateas the slider 150 is moving. The results is that the user gets thevisual experience of zooming in and out of time.

As shown in the exemplary implementations of the timescale control 150,the scale is broken into a set of contiguous time slices. The major andminor time division displays 154, 156 are automatically set so the timeslices stays within a minimum and maximum number of pixels. The majortime division 154 may only be shown when it first appears and when itchanges. The minor time division 156 may be shown for each time slice.The list below shows exemplary time divisions. The divisions are spacedso that one division is roughly 2-3 times the size of the previousdivision:

-   -   Second, 5 Seconds, 15 Seconds, 30 Seconds,    -   Minute, 5 Minutes, 15 Minutes, 30 Minutes,    -   Hour, 3 Hours, 6 Hours, 12 Hours,    -   Day, 3 Days, Week, 2 Weeks,    -   Month, 3 Months, 6 Months, Year,    -   2 Years, 5 Years, Decade, 2 Decades,    -   5 Decades, Century

This wide range of time divisions allows for it being used to markeverything from major historical periods down to a set of frames insidea video clip. For example, the exemplary ranges can be used to show howstill pictures and video sequences are intermixed in time as well as howimages are spread over the lifespan of a person.

A histogram 158 or other visual presentation, as shown across the top ofthe timeline, may be used to show the number of items in the archivestorage area 30 from the current query that is found within thatspecified time/date slice. The currently displayed (or selected) part ofthe query may be shown, for example, in darker color or other visuallydistinguishing manner. As one illustrative example, if the selectedrange encloses the entire slice then its histogram bar may be drawn in asolid darker color. If the selected range starts or ends in a slice thena fade in or fade out is used to show that the selected range eitherstarts in or ends in the slice.

The user can change the selected range by grabbing and sliding anappropriate tab 160 or other icon provided on the timescale 150. A usermay alternatively select a date range by entering a (specific or fuzzy)date specification in a suitable textbox 162 and by clicking ‘go’ or anyother suitable control. The user may also be able to select all dates,e.g., by clicking on an ‘All’ or other suitable link. The user canscroll the visible date range by using the side arrows or click and dragthe time scale background. A click without. dragging may be used, forexample, to select the specified time slice. The control key thus allowsthe user to select a range of dates on the mouse click.

When the timescale zoom or visible range changes the application isrequested to recalculate the histogram values. The control is redrawnimmediately and then again when the recalculate is complete. When aslice is drawn, the histogram is not drawn if there are no dataavailable. The old values may be maintained as temporary values fordrawing until the new histogram values are available. A tab or othervisual icon may be used to show the date of the item or items that aredisplayed to the user, and which satisfy the specified time/date searchparameters. The user can slide this value directly. Or, it is updated ifthe user scrolls a query results or other item view listing provided incooperation with the timescale control.

Clicking on the center bar adjusts the display so the center of theselected range is over the center of the control. This centeringcapability works well with timescale zooming since the zoom keeps thecenter date constant.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as a computer method, a system or computer programproduct on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usableprogram code embodied in the medium. The software aspects of the presentinvention may be stored, implemented and/or distributed on any suitablecomputer usable or computer readable medium(s), including but notlimited to, any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagateor transport the program for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system of a corresponding processing device. The computerprogram product embodiments of the present invention may each havecomputer usable or computer readable program code portions thereof,which are stored together or distributed, either spatially or temporallyacross one or more devices. A computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may comprise, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, semiconductor system, etc., apparatus,device, or propagation medium.

More specific examples of the computer usable or computer readablemedium comprise an electrical connection having one or more wires,swappable intermediate storage mediums such as floppy drives, tapedrives or external hard drives a portable computer diskette, a harddisk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), anoptical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) ordigital video disk (DVD), an optical storage device, a transmissionmedia such as those supporting the Internet or an intranet, or amagnetic storage device. The computer-usable or computer-readable mediummay also comprise paper or another suitable medium upon which theprogram is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, forexample, via optical scanning of the paper or other medium, thencompiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, ifnecessary, and then stored in a computer memory.

In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer-usablemedium may include a propagated data signal with the computer-usableprogram code embodied therewith, either in baseband or as part of acarrier wave or a carrier signal. The computer usable program code mayalso be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but notlimited to the Internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any suitable language, including forexample, an object oriented programming language such as Java, C++ orthe like. The computer programs code for carrying out operations of thepresent invention may also be written in conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming.language, or inhigher or lower level programming languages. The program code mayexecute entirely on a first computer, partly on one or more differentcomputers, partly on the first computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the first computer through anetwork such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN),or the connection may be made to the remote computer, for example,through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider or othersuitable means of communicating across the Internet.

The present invention is described herein with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus systems andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the invention. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams may be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purposecomputer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The present invention may be practiced on any form of computer system,including a stand alone computer or one or more processors participatingon a distributed network of computers. Thus, computer systems programmedwith instructions embodying the methods disclosed herein, or computersystems programmed to perform various aspects of the present inventionand storage or storing media that store computer readable instructionsfor converting a general purpose computer into a system based upon thevarious aspects of the present invention disclosed herein, are alsoconsidered to be within the scope of the present invention. Once acomputer is programmed to implement the various aspects of the presentinvention, including the methods of use as set out herein, such computerin effect, becomes a special purpose computer particular to the methodsand program structures of this invention. The techniques necessary forthis are well known to those skilled in the art of computer systems.

Other computer system configurations can also be employed to perform themethod of this invention, and to the extent that a particular systemconfiguration is capable of performing the method of this invention, itis equivalent to the representative computer system and within the scopeof this invention.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures and code examplesprovided in the specification illustrate the architecture,functionality,. and operation of possible implementations of systems,methods and computer program products according to various embodimentsof the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart orblock diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code,which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in somealternative implementations, the functions may occur out of theillustrated order. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, infact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware andcomputer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the invention and the practical application,and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand theinvention for various embodiments with various modifications as aresuited to the particular use contemplated.

Having thus described the invention of the present application in detailand by reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparentthat modifications and variations are possible without departing fromthe scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

1. A computer program product to archive digital content comprising: acomputer usable storage medium having computer usable program codeembodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:computer usable program code configured to implement an archive storagearea having a unified storage structure including a unitary archivefolder such that all items stored in the archive storage are logicallycontained within said unitary archive folder; computer usable programcode configured to implement a manifest that is stored within saidarchive storage area when said archive storage area is loaded onto astorage device, said manifest comprising: an index of items stored insaid unified structure of said archive; an organizational structure thatsupports user-defined categories that perform at least one of:characterizing, customizing and classifying, items stored in saidunified structure; and at least one backup queue that temporarily queuesa list of items that satisfy predetermined backup criteria but have notbeen backed up; and computer usable program code configured to implementan archive service that: intermediates between software modules and saidarchive storage area to control requests for access to items stored insaid unified storage structure by interacting with and correspondinglyupdating said index of said manifest as items are retrieved and storedin said unified storage structure; provides an interface that interactswith a user to manipulate and interact with said organizationalstructure to define user-defined views of the contents of said unifiedstorage structure; and interacts with each backup queue to back up itemsstored in said archive storage area at predetermined times based uponpredetermined backup criteria for each of each backup queue.
 2. Thecomputer program product according to claim 1, wherein: said unifiedstorage structure comprises a hashed directory structure; and saidmanifest stores a hashing modulus of a corresponding to hash function.3. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein saidarchive storage area is marked as a special directory by at least one ofan information file saved in said archive storage area or a shellextension of an operating system on a corresponding computing deviceupon which said system is loaded.
 4. The computer program productaccording to claim 1, wherein said manifest is constructed in theextended markup language.
 5. The computer program product according toclaim 1, wherein said at least one backup queue comprises a first backupqueue that said archive service utilizes to back up information to aremovable media device and a second backup queue that said archiveservice utilizes to back up information to a shadow copy.
 6. Thecomputer program product according to claim 5, wherein said first backupqueue backs up to at least one of a compact disk or a digital video diskdrive.
 7. The computer program product according to claim 1, whereinsaid archive storage area is stored on a storage appliance that iscommunicably coupled to a host computer.
 8. The computer program productaccording to claim 1, wherein said interface of said archive serviceimplements at least one of visualization and browsing of saidorganizational structure to provide at least one view of the itemsstored in the archive storage area for user-implemented location ofitems of interest within the archive storage area.
 9. The computerprogram product according to claim 1, wherein said archive service afurther provides a user-interactive time control that implements fuzzydates and times to allow a user to locate items of interest within saidarchive storage area, and fuzzy date parameters that support said timecontrol are stored in said manifest.
 10. A method of archiving digitalcontent comprising: creating an archive storage area stored within atleast one storage device accessible by a host processing device, havinga unified storage structure including a unitary archive folder such thatall items stored in the archive storage are logically contained withinsaid unitary archive folder; maintaining a manifest executed by saidhost processing device, comprising: maintaining in said manifest, anindex of items in said unified structure of said archive; maintaining insaid manifest an organizational structure that supports user-definedcategories that perform at least one of: characterizing, customizing andclassifying, items stored in said unified structure; and maintaining insaid manifest at least one backup queue that temporarily queues a listof items that satisfy predetermined backup criteria but have not beenbacked up; providing an archive service that, when executed by said hostprocessing device, performs: intermediating between users and saidarchive storage area to control requests for access to items stored insaid unified storage structure by interacting with and correspondinglyupdating said index of said manifest as items are retrieved and storedin said unified storage structure; providing an interface that interactswith a user to manipulate and interact with said organizationalstructure to define user-defined views of the contents of said unifiedstorage structure; and interacting with each backup queue to back upitems stored in said archive storage area at predetermined times basedupon predetermined backup criteria for each of each backup queue. 11.The method according to claim 10, wherein: said creating an archivestorage area having a unified storage structure comprises: implementingsaid unified storage structure by creating a hashed directory structure;and said maintaining a manifest stored within said archive storage areacomprises: storing a hashing modulus of a corresponding to hash functionwithin said manifest.
 12. The method according to claim 10, furthercomprising marking said archive storage area as a special directory byat least one of storing an information file in said archive storage areaor utilizing a shell extension of an operating system on a correspondingcomputing device.
 13. The method according to claim 10, wherein saidmaintaining a manifest comprises creating said manifest using theextended markup language.
 14. The method according to claim 10, whereinsaid maintaining in said manifest, at least one backup queue thattemporarily queues a list of items that satisfy predetermined backupcriteria but have not been backed up comprises: maintaining a pluralityof backup queues, each having a predefined backup location and backupparameters.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein saidmaintaining a plurality of backup queues, each having a predefinedbackup location and backup parameters comprises: maintaining at leastone backup queue that backs up to a portable removable media device; andmaintaining at least one shadow copy queue that backs up to a shadowcopy of said archive.
 16. The method according to claim 10, furthercomprising: storing said archive storage area on a storage appliancethat is remote from a host computer that executes said archive service.17. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: utilizing saidorganizational structure to provide a visualization of the items storedin said archive storage area to allow a user to locate items ofinterest.
 18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:utilizing a time control that implements fuzzy dates and times to allowa user to locate items of interest within said archive storage area; andstoring fuzzy date parameters that support said time control in saidmanifest.
 19. The computer program product according to claim 1, furthercomprising: computer usable program code configured to implement amessage digest of item list information and secret information tothrottle archive storage usage based on an activation state for tamperprevention of said archive storage area.
 20. The method according toclaim 10, further comprising: implementing a message digest of item listinformation and secret information to throttle archive storage usagebased on an activation state for tamper prevention of said archivestorage area.